Thursday, June 11, 2009

Elvis the Cupcake, Mac & Teese, and More

Elvis is Memphis. So it just wouldn't be right to right for a Memphian to write a vegan Southern cookbook without at least one recipe homage to the King. Meet the Elvis Cupcake:

It's peanut butter and banana, of course! The interior is flecked with peanuts and creamy banana bits, and it's topped with a rich peanut buttercream. The cupcake part is almost fat-free (except for the peanuts) so I like to think of it as "skinny Elvis." The frosting, however, is "fat Elvis" in all his chubby-cheeked glory. It's made with peanut butter, shortening, and loads of confectioner's sugar. That creates a balance that makes this Libra happy.

The cupcake is still in development, but I'm getting close to perfecting the recipe. I brought these to work today and my co-workers mostly all agreed that they were better than the first batch of them I brought in last week, which were more muffin-y than cake-y.

After all that cupcake bakin', I wanted an easy dinner tonight. So I whipped up this quick plate of Mac & Teese With Weiners In It:

Yep, it's kiddie food. But kiddie food makes me happy sometimes. I used Creamy Cheddar Teese melted with soymilk for the sauce. The new Teese sauces — creamy cheddar and nacho — are the best things ever made in the whole wide world! The veggie dogs were some I'd frozen back when I tried Melody's (of Melomeals) recipe for homemade steamed hot dogs. Her recipe is way better than the storebought kind!

On the side, I served Dark Leafy Greens with Sesame Miso Dressing from The Vegan Table:

As you can tell by the colored stems, I used fresh, local chard. And let me tell ya, this is the first thing I've made from The Vegan Table and it is most excellent! The greens are steamed and lightly sauteed with a miso-based sesame-flecked sauce. Yummy, nummy!

Hey! I love kiddie food - mac and teese with weiners sounds great. I love love love the cupcake bianca. Perfect combo - elvis had a lot more going on then just his dancing: he was a vegan in the making.

I love Elvis and I love the Elvis cupcake!! That's awesome! Great idea to combine fat and skinny! Best of both worlds!Also, I gave you a shout-out today on my blog! I toasted frozen waffles today. MUCH better than re-heating in the microwave!-A

sweet awesomeness, that cuppy = the best! mmmmmmmmmmmmm! your mac 'n teest looks most excellent as well! how rock'n that Melody's recipe = the best! yay! now i want swiss chard, and i'm gonna have to look in to The Vegan Table. gotta love the first recipe ya try from it being that delicious! nummy, fo 'sho!

That elvis cupcake looks great, what a neat idea!Mac and teese sounds great, when does cheezy pasta not sound great?Rainbow swiss chard is so pretty, talk about eating your colors!http://whatyourmommadidntknow.blogspot.com/

My name is Bianca ...

About Me

I'm a 9-year vegan, 19-year vegetarian from the Mid-South, not too far from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. And that means cornbread, butter beans, and collard greens.
These days, I live in Memphis. Check out my cookbook — Cookin' Crunk. It's filled with yummilicious veganized soul food and country classics.